Justice News

ALBUQUERQUE – Bobby Concho, 53, pleaded guilty this morning to federal assault and domestic assault by a habitual offender charges. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Concho will be sentenced to 40 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Concho, a member and resident of Zuni Pueblo, N.M., was arrested on Feb. 25, 2014, on a two-count indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic assault by a habitual offender. According to the indictment, Concho assaulted his intimate partner with a metal folding chair on June 23, 2013, in Indian Country in McKinley County, N.M. Concho was charged as a habitual offender because he previously had been convicted on domestic assault charges in the Zuni Tribal Court in 2006 and in the McKinley County Magistrate Court in 2004.

Today, Concho entered a guilty plea to both counts of the indictment. In entering his guilty plea, Concho admitted assaulting his intimate partner on June 23, 2013, by striking her in the face multiple times with a closed fist and hitting her with a metal folding chair with the intention of causing bodily harm. Concho acknowledged committing the assault within Zuni Pueblo.

Concho has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Zuni Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams. The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.